[nabs-l] Google car takes to the streets

Thu Apr 11 19:53:48 UTC 2013

Hello everyone,

    The technology to allow a blind person to drive one of these vehicles is 
all ready here. It's up to us to insure that when states adopt legislation 
to permit them to be driven on public right-of-ways sight will not be 
required for manual operation of such cars in the event that the autopilot 
must be over-ridden. I'm sure that Google and company will build in features 
that will automatically cause the vehicle to remove itself from the road in 
the event of a major system failure in such cases a tow truck would be 
needed instead of a blind or sighted driver to get it to the shop. I was 
surprised that this technology is now here and has all ready been road 
tested. We could be driving one of these machines sooner than we think given 
the rapid pace of technical development.

Peter Donahue

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kirt Manwaring" <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2013 2:39 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Google car takes to the streets

Robert,
  This only proves my point.  The autopilot is designed to be quickly
and easily turned off when human intervention, and sight, is needed.
It's designed for "the technology to disappear", as the article so
aptly puts it; this thing is designed so that a sighted driver can let
the car do the driving but still be on the lookout to take over when
needed.  That's a very long way from something we could use; like I
said, give it fifteen or twenty years and I might be able to drive one
of these things, if I have a steady job and at least a six-figure
income.
  Best,
Kirt

On 4/11/13, Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry, my laptop keyboard is acting funy today and I forgot to proofread.
>
> On 4/11/13, Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Carley,
>>   You live in Boston.  I rest my case.
>>   Patrick,
>>   Fair enough; I'll happily concede that, when the technology is
>> working, it's probably much safer than human drivers.  Still, even the
>> most durable computer will break occasionally.  The best technology,
>> while built to last, can't be guaranteed not to break or crash at a
>> critical moment; if you've ever lost a peper you were working on and
>> forgot to save, or had your hard drive die, or your phone break, or
>> your cane snap, or whatever, you'll know what I'm talking about.
>>   Best,
>> Kirt
>>
>> On 4/11/13, Patrick Molloy <ptrck.molloy at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I remember hearing something on the radio recently that the NTSB is
>>> totally in favor of self-driving cars because they're a lot safer than
>>> human drivers. From what I've experienced as a pedestrian dealing with
>>> crazy drivers, I have to agree! :)
>>> Patrick
>>>
>>> On 4/11/13, Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Kaitie,
>>>>   Give it fifteen years, at least.  Licensing these cars in the most
>>>> libertarian of our United States, so that companies with highly
>>>> trained employees can test them is a far, far cry from a license for
>>>> the general public.  Even five or ten years down the road when public
>>>> licenses are finally deemed safe, only the absolute wealthiest people
>>>> will probably be able to afford them.  Even a few years after that,
>>>> when the price will have probably dropped, sight will probably be a
>>>> qualification for these licenses so that the driver can manually
>>>> intervene in the event of technological error.  Imagine being totally
>>>> blind and having your car's guidence computer crash while traveling
>>>> down the interstate at 70 + mph...I'm not saying it will never happen,
>>>> I think it will probably be in our lifetime but it's still a
>>>> looooooooong way off.
>>>>   Best,
>>>> Kirt
>>>>
>>>> On 4/11/13, Peter Donahue <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com> wrote:
>>>>> Good afternoon everyone,
>>>>>
>>>>>     Last night we had some friends over to discuss business
>>>>> opportunities.
>>>>> Whenever such discussions occur the question of what you would do if
>>>>> you
>>>>> had
>>>>>
>>>>> an extra XXXX amount of money to spend. We showed them a video of the
>>>>> blind
>>>>>
>>>>> drivable vehicle on the NFB Web site. We had their full attention the
>>>>> whole
>>>>>
>>>>> time the video ran. We told them that we would like to have such a
>>>>> vehicle
>>>>> once they're licensed and become available to the public and the blind
>>>>> for
>>>>> perches. We also told them that that same technology could with
>>>>> modification
>>>>>
>>>>> enable a blind person to fly their own private jet independently and
>>>>> would
>>>>> give us a tremendous amount of personal freedom.
>>>>>
>>>>>     These vehicles won't be cheap. If you have any desire to own one
>>>>> of
>>>>> them
>>>>>
>>>>> it's best to develop the income required to buy one. Thousands of
>>>>> individuals have fulfilled similar dreams and we as blind people
>>>>> should
>>>>> avail ourselves of such opportunities when they come along to enable
>>>>> us
>>>>> to
>>>>> meet our needs without depending on state VR agencies and others.
>>>>> We're
>>>>> looking forward to having one of these vehicles once we're in position
>>>>> financially and they're available for perches. Dream big!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: "Kaiti Shelton" <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com>
>>>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2013 12:16 PM
>>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Google car takes to the streets
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Hmmm, I'm thinking grad school in Navada, then a roadtrip back to Ohio
>>>>> in a google car when I'm done.  Surely they can get something together
>>>>> and the kinks worked out in 5 years.  :)
>>>>>
>>>>> On 4/11/13, Brandon Keith Biggs <brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>> Yes in a way, the logistics of liability still need to be taken into
>>>>>> account
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm sure and licensing probably still needs to be worked out, but if
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> government officials are pushed, it will happen very soon.
>>>>>> I think the NFB should push for these quite hard. Perhaps they could
>>>>>> even
>>>>>> ask that a car come to the convention, I think Google would take the
>>>>>> challenge.
>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Brandon Keith Biggs
>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>> From: Justin Young
>>>>>> Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2013 9:13 AM
>>>>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Google car takes to the streets
>>>>>>
>>>>>> So does this mean these vehicles will soon be on the market for
>>>>>> individuals to purchase in Nevada?  Sounds like a very interesting
>>>>>> project.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 4/11/13, Robert William Kingett <kingettr at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>> Google's self-driven cars will soon be appearing on Nevada roads
>>>>>>> after
>>>>>>> the state's Department of Motor Vehicles approved on Monday the
>>>>>>> nation's
>>>>>>> first autonomous vehicle license.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The move came after officials rode along on drives on highways, in
>>>>>>> Carson City neighborhoods and along the famous Las Vegas Strip, the
>>>>>>> Nevada DMV said in a statement.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The Nevada legislature last year authorized self-driven cars for the
>>>>>>> state's roads, the first such law in the United States. That law
>>>>>>> went
>>>>>>> into effect on March 1, 2012.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Google's self-driven cars rely on video cameras, radar sensors,
>>>>>>> lasers,
>>>>>>> and a database of information collected from manually driven cars to
>>>>>>> help navigate, according to the company.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The DMV licensed a Toyota Prius that Google modified with its
>>>>>>> experimental driver-less technology, developed by Stanford professor
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> Google Vice President Sebastian Thrun.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Google's self-driving cars have crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and
>>>>>>> driven along the picturesque Pacific Coast Highway, according to the
>>>>>>> company.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Autonomous vehicles are the "car of the future," Nevada DMV director
>>>>>>> Bruce Breslow said in a statement. The state also has plans to
>>>>>>> eventually license autonomous vehicles owned by the members of the
>>>>>>> public, the DMV said.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Legislation to regulate autonomous cars is being considered in other
>>>>>>> states, including Google's home state of California.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "The vast majority of vehicle accidents are due to human error.
>>>>>>> Through
>>>>>>> the use of computers, sensors and other systems, an autonomous
>>>>>>> vehicle
>>>>>>> is capable of analyzing the driving environment more quickly and
>>>>>>> operating the vehicle more safely," California state Senator Alex
>>>>>>> Padilla said in March when he introduced that state's autonomous car
>>>>>>> legislation.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Other car companies are also seeking self-driven car licenses in
>>>>>>> Nevada,
>>>>>>> the DMV said.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Kaiti
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>
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>

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